Twisted Secrets
by Foxdawn
Summary: Sparrowfeather died at the claws of her mate, caught in the act of murder. Banished to the Place of No Stars, Sparrowfeather wants revenge more than anything. There is hope, though. Her five kits still remain in WindClan...Sparrowfeather forms a plan to destroy her mate and the deputy of WindClan, so that she can take her place as WindClan leader. Challenge for StormClan.
1. Cloudfoot

**WindClan**

 **Leader:** Ashstar- long-haired black tom with grey-black spots

 **Deputy:** Tigersnow- white she-cat with black tabby stripes

 **Warriors:**

Cloudfoot- fluffy white tom with a foggy grey tail-tip

Archtail- very dark grey-black she-cat with black ears

Heathercloud- pale tan she-cat with white spots

 **Apprentices:**

Mosspaw- dark brown tom (Medicine Cat Apprentice)

 **Kits:**

Tallkit- pale grey she-cat

 **Place of No Stars**

Sparrowfeather- mottled brown tabby she-cat

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _Silverpelt floated overhead, StarClan glowing_ brightly, washing the moor in silvery-white light. Sparrowfeather slipped silently from the nursery, her cold eyes shining with fury as she slunk around the edge of camp.

 _He choose Tigersnow! Everyone knows I'd be a better deputy. Who cares that I have three mewling wretches to worry about. I'm sure there's another queen who'd want them!_

She growled softly in her throat, thinking back to the day before.

Sparrowfeather could remember watching the elders bring Hailstone's body to the center of the clearing. She remembered the Clan's astonishment at the sight of their deputy's eyes clouded and glazed in death. It had been easy to get rid of the old flea-brain. A couple death berries in his fresh-kill...and poof! No more Hailstone.

She sneered when she remembered the look on Cloudpaw's face when he saw his mentor, limp and lifeless, in the center of the clearing.

 _I expect more from my son. Hailstone was a terrible mentor anyway. Its better that he's gone. At least it_ was _better._

It was better until that hare-brained idiot she called a mate, Ashstar, choose Tigersnow as deputy over her. His own mate!

But Sparrowfeather would fix Ashstar's mistake.

Sparrowfeather slipped behind the warrior den and gazed across camp to the silvery form of Tigersnow, where she sat guarding the camp, her tail wrapped around her paws.

 _This is too easy!_

Tigersnow's back was toward her attacker s she gazed out across the moor. Sparrowfeather fluffed up her fur in attempt to make her look larger and more threatening. The scent of fox clung to her pelt as a result of the fox dung she had rolled in earlier. She felt no fear or regret as she leaped onto Tigersnow's back, raking her claws down the tabby she-cat's sides.

 _Hello, Tigersnow. Do I look like a fox?_

Tigersnow screamed in horror and pain as Sparrowfeather fastened her fangs into Tigersnow's neck.

 _That should do it for now._ Sparrowfeather thought, leaping away from Tigersnow and raking her claws down the side of the nursery, leaving a gaping hole.

"Fox!" Sparrowfeather screamed, instantly arousing the whole of WindClan.

Wasting no time, Sparrowfeather rolled in the milk-scented moss and leaves that coated the floor of the den. Satisfied that she smelled like a helpless queen, she grabbed to of her day-old kits and rushed into the camp, where warriors ran in confusion. Sparrowfeather dropped the kits on the earth, and killed them quickly with her claws.

"A fox killed my kits! A fox killed my kits!" she cried, racing back into the nursery to dispose of the last kit. She froze in astonishment as she nearly barreled into the sleek form of her daughter, Archpaw.

"You monster!" Archpaw screamed, leaping at her mother, paws outstretched and claws unsheathed. "You murdered them!"

Sparrowfeather threw her daughter off, opening a gash in Archpaw's leg. "Quiet!"

Before Sparrowfeather could move, Ashstar was on top of his mate, pinning her to the earth.

"I don't believe it." Ashstar whispered, his voice choked with grief. "But what I am seeing proves it to be true. You killed our kits. You killed Tigersnow." Ashstar's voce faltered, and his eyes closed in defeat. "I'm sorry."

Ashstar's claws sunk into her throat, and pain coursed through her body as the blood pooled around his paw.

The world went black.

 **Part** **One**

 **Chapter One**

 _"Hurry!" The pounding of paws_ and the panting and whistling of the wind thundered in Cloudfoot's ears. He leaped over a clump of tangled bracken and moor grass, flicking his ears back to listen for the thud of Tallkit's and Mosspaw's paws as they landed.

Cloudfoot's heart beat faster as the pawsteps grew louder, and the lean, pale grey pelt of his sister streaked along beside him. She flashed a grin at him, and the three young cats skidded to a halt.

"What are you, half rabbit?" Tallkit and Cloudfoot glanced back as Mosspaw approached, his dark brown pelt spiky and ruffled.

Tallkit laughed and affectionately head-butted her littermate. "And what are _you_ , Mosspaw? Half snail, maybe?"

"I think you're back up to speed." Cloudfoot meowed, circling his younger siblings slowly. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like I could beat you back to camp!" Tallkit cried, racing back across the moor, her tail streaming out behind her.

"I think that means she's fine." Mosspaw concluded.

"Come on." Cloudfoot replied, smiling. "Let's make sure she doesn't get ripped apart by a fox."

"Go ahead. I'll catch up with you..." Mosspaw panted.

Cloudfoot's whiskers twitched in amusement, and he sped off across the moor.

* * *

Cloudfoot shook out his pelt as he slipped through the bracken into the WindClan camp. He spotted Tallkit chatting happily with two younger apprentices, but he found his gaze wandering to the jagged, lightning-like scar that cut through the grey fur around her throat. That was what Sparrowfeather had done to her that night, nearly ten moons ago.

Tallkit and Mosspaw had been the only two of Sparrowfeather's litter. Mosspaw had been left in the nest, while Sparrowfeather had attempted taking Tallkit's life, along with her third littermate, Stripekit. Stripekit had died at his mother's claws that night, while Tallkit had been confined to the nursery for many moons because of her injury. Now Tallkit could finally take her place among the apprentices.

"May all cats old enough to chase their own rabbits gather under the Hollow!" Cloudfoot heard his father's yowl ring out just as Mosspaw slipped back into camp and went to sit by his mentor.

"Today is a very special day. One I've been waiting for, for a very long time. Tallkit, please step forward. " Ashstar watched as Tallkit stepped to the front of the gathered cats, her body quivering with excitement.

"Tallkit **,** you have reached the age of six moons, your wounds are healed, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Tallpaw. Your mentor will be Cloudfoot. I hope Cloudfoot will pass down all he knows on to you."

Murmurs rippled through the Clan as Cloudfoot stepped forward. _But...kin mentoring kin?_ He thought just as Ashstar continued speaking.

"Cloudfoot, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training in the past, and you have shown yourself to be strong and fearless in battle. You will be the mentor of Tallpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her. " Ashstar meowed, fixing his son in his piercing gaze as if warning him not to argue.

Cloudfoot touched noses with Tallpaw, whose amber eyes were shining with excitement. _I know Ashstar has a good reason for this._ Cloudfoot told himself. _So I'll follow my leader's word._

* * *

"Cloudfoot..." a soft, kind voice whispered in his head. Cloudfoot blinked his eyes open, an found himself not in his nest within the warrior den, but instead standing among huge, looming trees whose leaves fluttered and rattled uneasily, and whose roots lay shrouded in shadows and mold.

"Cloudfoot..." the long-haired white tom flicked his ears as the voice curled sweetly through the shadows of the night. _Where in the name of StarClan am I?_

Hair standing on end, Cloudfoot padded cautiously through the woods, the feeling of being watched prickling his pelt. He had the uneasy, niggling feeling that he knew the voice that was calling him.

At that moment, a familiar scent soared through the air. At the same time, he remembered the voice...the voice of the one he had vowed to forget.

"Sparrowfeather." He hissed as the mottled form of his mother slipped out from the leafless bracken. He pelt was thin and matted, and her eyes dull and clouded, but still the fiery sparks of vengeance burning within them.

"Cloudfoot! I've missed you! I so wanted to be at your Warrior ceremony. I helped your father pick out your Warrior name when you were still a kit." She meowed, smiling to reveal broken, yellowed fangs.

"Leave me alone." Cloudfoot spat. He would not listen to a word his mother had to say. She was dead! "Where are we?"

"The Place of No Stars, son. This is where I was banished to. Those cowardly StarClan warriors!" Sparrowfeather's smile turned to a snarl. "Is that bee-brained Tigersnow still the deputy of idiot WindClan?"

"Yes. No thanks to you." Cloudfoot hissed, turning away from his mother and beginning to stalk deeper into the woods.

Images of Tigersnow flashed through his mind, images of what Sparrowfeather's vengeful claws had done. The black-and-white she-cat had barely survived her wounds. A splotchy, pink scar slashed around her neck and the back of her head, disrupting the pattern of her fine tabby fur and causing her mew to sound more like a croak.

"Wait, Cloudfoot. I brought you here because I want to talk to you." Sparrowfeather suddenly appeared in front of him, her eyes gleaming.

"I'm not interested in a thing you have to say." He growled, although he didn't run. Something inside made him want to find out what she wanted. Why would she bring him here?

"Oh, Cloudfoot. I thought you were more loyal than that!" Sparrowfeather leaned forward so that their noses almost touched. "I want to make you the greatest WindClan warrior that ever existed. You'll be better than Tigersnow, better than your littermates, even better than your father. You want to be able to train your apprentice the best you can, right? How can you do that if you don't know the most complicated WindClan battle tactics? Tactics that were lost seasons ago. You want to be the best for your apprentice...even your Clan, right?"

Every fiber of his feeling was screaming at him to run, to refuse, to never set paw in the dark, desolate woods.

"Teach me."

 **Chapter Two**

 _He could feel thick, sticky_ liquid rolling down his muzzle as Cloudfoot opened his eyes. The sharp metallic scent of blood stung his scent glands. Images of Sparrowfeather's shining black claws and her snarl as they trained with their claws unsheathed.

"Cloudfoot! What happened to your forehead?" Heathercloud's worried face appeared above him.

"Um..." Cloudfoot frantically scrambled for an answer. "I must've scratched myself on a burr in my nest..."

"Come on, let's go see Mosspaw."

Heathercloud led him out of the warrior den despite his protests and beckoned to him to enter the medicine den. Cloudy, dust-coated light swirled in front of him as his eyes adjusted to the half-light.

"Heathercloud? Cloudfoot? Is someone hurt?" Mosspaw bounded out of the back of the den, his eyes searching his sibling's faces for an explanation.

"Cloudfoot got into a fight with a burr last night." Heathercloud meowed, casting a disbelieving glance toward her white-furred littermate.

 _That's more or less true._ Cloudfoot thought with a twitch of his whiskers.

"Could you get him patched up?" Heathercloud asked. "I'll go tell Tallpaw that her mentor-"

"Cloudfoot! Cloudfoot! Cloudfoot!" A pale grey blur streaked into the den. "Oh, there you are, Cloudfoot! I Need to talk to you."

"Okay, Tallpaw. Can you do it while Mosspaw puts something on my burr scratch?"

"Yup." Tallpaw sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws, her eyes two huge glowing orbs in the dim light. "Last night, I had dream about my...my m-mother."

Cloudfoot, Heathercloud, and Mosspaw gasped and exchanged glances.

"Did she hurt you?" Cloudfoot asked, stepping closer to his apprentice.

Tallpaw shook her head fiercely, her eyes wide and surprise. "Of course not! She's my mother!"

Cloudfoot blinked incredulously. _Has she forgotten who ruined her life? Who pushed back her apprenticeship, who scarred her permanently?_

 _"_ Tallpaw. Have you forgotten who nearly killed you? Have you forgotten who killed _Stripekit_?" Cloudfoot growled. Mosspaw flinched at the mention of his littermate's name, but Tallpaw seemed unfazed.

"Sparrowfeather told me it was _Tigersnow_ who tried to kill me." She whispered, leaning in closer to her siblings. "She said that Tigersnow was jealous that Sparrowfeather became deputy, so she killed Sparrowfeather, Stripekit and almost me."

"That' not true!" Heathercloud exclaimed. "Archtail was there! It was Sparrowfeather!"

"As long as Tallpaw isn't hurt, it doesn't matter what Sparrowfeather says." Cloudfoot meowed calmly.

Heathercloud nodded hesitantly. "I guess you're right. If she visits you again, just do as she says and we'll help you and keep you from getting hurt."

Tallpaw nodded solemnly. "I will, Heathercloud. I promise."

* * *

"Okay, Tallpaw. Now you try it." Cloudfoot meowed, landing on his paws just after demonstrating a new battle move that Sparrowfeather had shown him the night before. It was the third time he had seen his mother in his dreams, and every morning, the young white warrior had a new scar or cut to hide from his littermates. Heathercloud had become increasingly difficult to avoid, her sharp eyes spotted nearly everything, and she was obviously worried about him.

 _Not that she should be._ Cloudfoot thought. _I'm a grown warrior, not some kit!_

"Okay!" Tallpaw leapt into the air and perfectly mimicked the move Cloudfoot had demonstrated. She landed on her paws, her claws sinking into the ground and her tail outstretched.

Cloudfoot blinked, confused. Tallow had never seen or practiced that move before. How had she gotten it right unless...

"You've been training with her, haven't you?" He demanded.

"You mean, with...with Sparrowfeather?" Tallpaw asked nervously. "She said she'd help me catch up with the other apprentices since I got such a late start. She promised she'd help me."

As she spoke, Cloudfoot noticed a small red slash on Tallpaw's hindpaw.

 _This is the exact same thing I'm doing. I can't get mad at her. Besides, Sparrowfeather has seemed to be helping her._

"You're not mad?" Tallpaw asked quietly.

"No I'm not. I think you're doing the right thing. Sparrowfeather May have been evil and dangerous, but she was a good fighter. She'll help you." Cloudfoot replied, hoping what he said was true.


	2. Heathercloud

**Part Two**

 **Chapter One**

 _This is unusual. Heathercloud thought_ nervously, stepping cautiously between the dark looming trees that surrounded her. Claw-like tendrils of ivy reached down upon the young warrior, lightly brushing her pelt and causing her to jump warily.

"Sparrowfeather...I-I know you're out there!" Heathercloud shouted trying to appear fearless and confident. Her voice echoed in the night, eerily screaming and yowling as it grew farther and farther away.

"Hello, my dear. So good of you to visit your dear old mother." Sparrowfeather's thin, slinky form crept out of the brambles in front of Heathercloud, making the young tan-and-white she-cat freeze in horror.

 _She's dead, Heathercloud._ Heathercloud told herself. _She won't hurt you. She_ can't _hurt you._ Despite this, her nerves caused her to be motionless, rooted to the ground.

"What's wrong? Scared of the living dead?" Sparrowfeather sneered, ominously circling her daughter.

"No...I just..." Heathercloud grappled hopelessly for the right words to say.

"I've brought you here, because I have a deal for you." Sparrowfeather interrupted, brushing her tail over her daughter's mouth. "I know you're loyal to your Clan. I was too. That's why I tried to take Tigersnow's place, I thought I could do better for my Clan."

"I don't believe you." Heathercloud whispered, not meeting her mother's eyes.

"What was that?" Sparrowfeather slammed Heathercloud to the earth, knocking all the air from Heathercloud's lungs. She gasped from breath and Sparrowfeather placed her paws on her chest, her claws unsheathed.

"This is a one time offer. Don't be a mouse-brain and miss your only chance. Train with me. I'll make you a great warrior. Greater than Tigersnow ever will be. What do you say?" Sparrowfeather pushed her claws farther into Heathercloud's chest, causing the young brown she-cat to cry out in pain.

"I'll never join you! Never!" Heathercloud roared, pushing Sparrowfeather off and fleeing through the shadowy woods, her breath rasping in her throat. She could hear Sparrowfeather's enraged yowl echo between the trees as she raced away from her mother, the thud of Sparrowfeather's paws thundering in Heathercloud's ears.

"StarClan show me the way!" Heathercloud screamed desperately, dodging a bramble bush and plunging into a patch of thick ferns. Thorns and thistles snagged on her pelt, but the trees slowly thinned away into a wide, bright grassy meadow. Heathercloud put on another burst of speed as the sound of running paws behind her suddenly grew louder.

"Heathercloud!" An unfamiliar voice cried. "Slow down. She can't get to you here."

"Who are you?" Heathercloud demanded, refusing to slow her pace despite the ache in her muscles and legs.

"I said slow down. You're safe." The voice replied from behind her, evading her question. "This is StarClan."

Heathercloud skidded to a halt, shaking her head in disbelief. "StarClan? But...but...have I been killed? Did Sparrowfeather catch me?"

"No, Heathercloud. I have a message for you."

"Who is "I"?" She asked warily, glancing behind her to view the speaker. It was a small, yet lean, cream-and-ginger tabby tom. His green eyes met hers, and recognition flared in her chest.

"Stripekit? Is that you?" Heathercloud asked, rising to her paws and touching noses with her younger brother. "I wish I had a chance to know you." She whispered, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent.

"I know, Heathercloud. It's okay." Stripekit pulled away and sat back on his haunches. Despite his words, a wave of sorrow flooded his eyes. "Anyway, there's something I must tell you: ' _Five will be four, and darkness two. One will be none, and the shadows gone.'_ "

Heathercloud blinked uncertainly. "What does that mean? Is it a prophecy? Why are you telling me? Why not Mosspaw or Cloudfoot, or Archtail?"

"You will know with time. I will see you again, Heathercloud." Stripekit dipped his head, and StarClan faded into the expanse of Silverpelt.

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _"Heathercloud? Hello?" Heathercloud shivered and_ opened her eyes, blinking in surprise at the sight of a pale grey face peering down into her own.

"Tallpaw?" She rasped, rising to her paws and shaking moss and leaves out of her pelt. she winced at the deep ache that clutched her muscles; the pain from her encounter with Sparrowfeather.

"Good morning!" Tallpaw replied cheerfully. "Cloudfoot and I were hoping that you and Archtail could help out with my battle training today. He's already waiting just outside of camp. Will you come?"

"Uh...sure. I just have to speak with Mosspaw for a moment." Heathercloud meowed. _I have to tell him Stripekit's prophecy._

"He left to visit the Moonstone with his mentor. He won't be back until tomorrow." Tallpaw responded, stepping away from Heathercloud's nest to stand in the entrance to the den. "Race you to Cloudfoot!" With that, the pale grey she-cat dashed away.

Heathercloud sighed. _For being ten moons old, she sure has a lot of energy and spirit._

* * *

"Cloudfoot, can I show them my progress?" Tallpaw asked hopefully, shooting a glance toward Archtail and Heathercloud.

"Sure, go ahead." Cloudfoot nodded encouragingly and padded across the sandy hollow to stand across from Tallpaw, braced for an attack. Tallpaw hesitated a moment as if calculating her first move, then bolted at Cloudfoot, her paws outstretched. She kicked at his forepaws in an attempt to knock him to the earth, but he grabbed her hindpaws and twisted, pinning Tallpaw to the earth, his paws on her chest.

"Whoa!" Archtail nodded, impressed. "I've never seen _that_ move before. Where did you learn it?"

"That was awesome!" Tallpaw squealed, leaping to her paws. "Teach me that!"

Heathercloud froze as the realization dawned upon her, causing the fur on her neck to stand on end as she remembered where she had seen that move before.

"Sparrowfeather." She snapped softly, looking down at her paws.

"What did you say?" Archtail asked, unsheathing her claws as she met her sister's eyes.

"I said Sparrowfeather." Heathercloud meowed more loudly, raising her head to meet Cloudfoot's nervous eyes. "You've been training with Sparrowfeather, haven't you?"

"What?" Archtail demanded, lunging at Cloudfoot, a snarl plastered on her face. "I thought she only visited Tallpaw. You never told me that you saw her too."

"I...I..." Cloudfoot looked down at his paws.

"Heathercloud...if you're not training with Sparrowfeather, then how did you recognize the move?" Tallpaw asked softly.

"She attacked me in my dreams last night. Stripekit saved me, and gave me this prophecy: ' _Five will be four, and darkness two. One will be none, and the shadows gone.'_ '

"Why would you hide something like this?" Archtail roared, her black tail lashing and her eyes like thunder. "How could you do this. Don't you remember who she is?" She glared at Cloudfoot, who gave her a pleading look.

"Archtail, I'm sorry. She promised that she would make me the best WindClan warrior to walk the moors. I just wanted to help my Clan." Cloudfoot meowed sorrowfully. "I'm so, so sorry."

 _And yet Ashstar believed you could properly mentor Tallpaw._ Heathercloud thought bitterly.

Archtail shot her brother a glare. "I will never be able to trust you. _Any_ of you. Too many secrets have been kept. You are all equal to rogues and kittypets to me." Archtail lashed her tail and dashed away.


	3. Archtail

**Part Three**

 **Chapter One**

Archtail lashed her thin black tail as she stalked silently away from the training hollow, anger and fury roiling darkly in her belly as she thought of her littermates training within the dark, looming and confining shadows of the Dark Forest. She pictured fresh, scarlet blood staining Cloudfoot's fluffy white fur as he raked his claws across some helpless cat, cold fury flaring in his blue eyes as he ruthlessly destroyed the life of the desperate, wailing cat that lay trapped beneath his paws.

 _Sparrowfeather can't be trusted. A promise doesn't mean a mousetail to her. Loyalty or love is as worthless as a shedded tuft of fur. Cloudfoot has doomed the Clan._

 _He thinks he's strong enough to stand, but he's not. I know his heart. I've seen what Sparrowfeather can do. He can't resist._

 _But I can._

Archtail paused, looking out across the open moor, the wind blowing through the dried grasses and the usually blue sky clouded over with thick grey clouds. She could remember running the moors as an apprentice, when everything was so much simpler, when there was no fog nor storm to cloud her vision or distract her. She remembered the bond that had woven her tightly against her mentor. Her mentor, Sparrowfeather. The cat she could never trust again.

Despite the rule about kin not mentoring kin, Ashstar seemed to only trust his own kin to mentor his kits. The reason he himself had mentored Heathercloud, and placed other close family members as mentors over his kits. Thus, his love and mate became Archtail's first mentor.

Ashstar always has a fearful, sad look in his eyes. As if no matter where he placed his trust, it was broken. Archtail remembered how her father had rarely visited her and her littermates when they were kits. At the time, she believed it had been because he was always too busy with the duties of a Clan leader, but she later learned otherwise. The great leader that she had once thought her father to be, was now a wary, wide-eyed warrior who simply refused to place his trust in anyone.

Sparrowfeather, however, had promised her so much. She promised Archtail that she would be stronger, faster than her littermates. Archtail would be the first to join the ranks of warrior. She would be the best Warrior of WindClan.

From Archtail's kithood, Sparrowfeather had always been there to show her the way. When Archtail was first apprenticed, she knew that her mentor would either be Sparrowfeather or Ashstar. Of course, she was absolutely delighted when Ashstar announced Sparrowfeather's name, and the two she-cats gently bumped noses.

Sparrowfeather had been a tough mentor, despite mentoring her favored kit. Her apprentice had been a fast learner, though. The young black she-cat had been fueled by her lust to become stronger and fiercer than her littermates. However ever hard she tried, though, Ashstar and much of the Clan still favored Cloudfoot. To Archtail, the Clan seemed to think that the young white tom could do no wrong. Archtail only strove the more to be better.

True, Archtail was ambitious, almost in an all-consuming way that she had learned from her mother. All her life, she had been stuck in Cloudfoot's broad shadow because he was stronger, or faster, or more respected among the Clan. Every moment of her life, Archtail was working to be the best WindClan warrior, but no matter what she tried, Cloudfoot always outshone her in some way.

 _And now, he even has his own apprentice. What about me, huh, Ashstar? Am I not a good enough warrior for you? Have I not proven my loyalty time after time?_

Archtail sunk her claws into the earth, angrily tearing up clumps of dried moor grass and flinging it to the side.

"What's up?" Archtail nearly jumped at the sound of Tigersnow's raspy voice coming from behind her.

 _You're supposed to be dead._ Archtail spat silently, lashing her tail once again.

"Nothing. I'm just hunting." She snapped curtly. Without another word, Archtail rose to her paws and streaked across the moor, leaving the scarred tabby warrior behind. Her thoughts flared as she pounded across the waving mood grass, her sleek body easily weaving among the grasses. She remembered the look of hatred and ambition that had glimmered ominously in her mother's eyes as the brown tabby she-cat had dashed into the den, only to skid to a halt as she was blocked by Archtail. Archtail could clearly remember seeing dark stains of her siblings' blood smeared across her mother's muzzle. The betrayal the young black she-cat had felt was the same feeling that now roiled in her chest.

 _Sparrowfeather thought she could keep secrets from me,_ Archtail spat silently. _but everything is eventually revealed, right Sparrowfeather?_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

The familiar eerie shadows of endless night washed over Archtail's pelt as she slowly reclaimed consciousness. She blinked slowly as her claws instinctively slid out of their sheathes, digging into the scrubby grass beneath her paws. The black she-cat opened her mouth and tasted the air, hardly wincing as the scents of fear and blood rushed to meet her. Although once she would have gagged at the sickening scents of the Dark Forest, she was used to it by now.

Sparrowfeather's scent was one of the few things she could detect over the blood and fear scents, though not the only thing. She hidden beneath fear and dipped in Sparrowfeather's own scent was another familiar scent; one that caused Archtail's fur to stand on end.

Archtail easily followed her mother's scent to a clearing that lay hidden nearby, surrounded by thick holly bushes and bracken. She dropped to her belly and silently crept under the bushes just as she had done for countless nights since Sparrowfeather's death. This place was almost as familiar to the young black she-cat as the Warriors den within WindClan camp was.

From the center of the clearing, the roars and caterwauls of battling cats rose above the thorn barrier that protectively surrounded the two dueling cats. Archtail's pelt bristled as she caught sight of the two familiar pelts she had expected to see, the ragged tabby pelt of her mother nearly blocking that or her sister as Sparrowfeather pinned the squirming form of Tallpaw to the dust beneath her paws.

"Is that all you can do? I said fight!" Sparrowfeather roared, leaning in close to the tiny quivering grey form of Tallpaw.

"I am. I'm trying!" Tallpaw meowed weakly, pushing Spareowfeather off of her with her hindlegs. "I'm going to be the best WindClan warrior there is!" Tallpaw sunk her claws into Sparrowfeather's flank.

Archtail dashed into the clearing as Sparrowfeather let out a shriek of pain. _The best warrior of WindClan? There can only be one 'best warrior' and it will never be you._

"Archtail? What are you-" Tallpaw's exclamation was cut short as Archtail leaped onto her sister. The scarred she-cat gasped in surprise and panic as her sister sunk her claws into Tallpaw's throat, reopening the scar and finishing what Sparrowfeather had once started.

Archtail stepped back from the broken body of Tallpaw as the reek of blood filled the air, her black forepaws wet and sticky with they young she-cat's blood.

"Archtail! I-" Sparrowfeather stepped forward, an exaggerated purr leaking from her throat.

"Save it." Archtail snapped, lashing her tail and stepping away from the fading body that lay by her paws. "She's in StarClan now. Out of my way. Where she belongs."

Sparrowfeather's eyes hardened. "You're early for training."

"I didn't come to train." The young black she-cat pushed past her mother and stalked into the undergrowth. "I've finished what I came for. I won't be coming back."

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Archtail awoke to a loud, eerie shriek.

The cry curled through the camp and echoed off the sky. The sleek black she-cat leaped to her paws as warriors began to pour out of their dens, filling the usually-empty dawn-bathes camp with the murmurs of worried cats.

Archtail caught sight of a young tabby apprentice streaking out of the den, followed a moment later by her littermate. Brindlepaw paused in the center of camp, holding back his sister as the two young cats scanned the clearing.

"Ashstar!" Greypaw cried, spotting the black tom slipping out of his den and calmly walking to the center of camp, apparently still collected despite the inexplicable panic the two young cats had thrown themselves into.

 _Just you wait, Ashstar._ Archtail smirked, wrapping her tail around her paws in an attempt to hide her satisfaction. _You'll be broken by the time this is over. And I'll achieve something Sparrowfeather never could. I'll be the deputy of WindClan._

"What's the matter?" Ashstar asked the two quivering apprentices. "What happened."

"We don't know!" Brindlepaw cried. "But Tallpaw...sh-" The young tom's words were drowned out by another wail from his sister. "She's hurt!" Brindlepaw finally managed. "Get Duskpoppy!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Archtail spotted Cloudfoot's fluffy white pelt disappear into the apprentice den. She smiled to herself. Everything was going perfectly.

A moment later, Cloudfoot returned from the shadows of the den, a look of horror on his face. "She's dead."

From where she sat, only Archtail and Heathercloud could hear his words. Heathercloud dashed into the den, only to return less than a heartbeat later, while Archtail simply turned to face him, careful not to betray any emotion as the white tom struggled to comprehend what his eyes knew to be true.

"She's dead!" Heathercloud wailed. "Ashstar! Tallpaw is dead!"

Ashstar pushed through the gathered Clan, desperate to reach the hollow where the apprentices slept. For a moment, the dark-furred tom disappeared into the shadows, the whole Clan seeming to hold their breath as they waited. He returned a moment later, grief etched on his face.

"Tallpaw was murdered." He meowed finally, loudly enough for the Clan to hear. "Someone has killed my daughter."

Ashstar fixed the Clan in an angry glare, while cats began to exchange nervous glances. After a moment of silence, Archtail rose to her paws.

"It was Cloudfoot!" She yowled, flicking her tail toward her brother. Every eye automatically flicked to the white tom, who stared at her in astonishment. "I saw him slip into the den last night at moonhigh, while I visited the dirt place."

Ashstar regarded her disbelievingly "Cloudfoot would never-"

"But you would." A voice behind her growled. Archtail whirled around to meet the dark blue eyes of Tigersnow.

"Here you tell of Cloudfoot's crime, but Tallpaw's very blood is on your paws." The tabby deputy rasped.

Archtail looked down to see her fur, caked with the blood of her sister that had remained and dried since her fight in the Dark Forest. Realizing her mistake, Archtail lashed out at Tigersnow, clawing the white she-cat across the throat. The WindClan deputy collapsed in a screech of agony as the Clan watched in horror.

Cloudfoot dashed across the clearing, seeming to break the stunned cats from their trance as he leaped onto his sister. Archtail screamed as her brother's claws sank into her flank, and she kicked out at him, desperately fighting to free herself. Warriors seemed to suddenly surround her, and Archtail felt regret surge through her as her last hope evaporated in the dawn.

She sank to the ground, Cloudfoot crouching on top of her, and remembered that night so many moons ago, when it had been the opposite. Instead of being pinned beneath the enemy's paws, she had been the one on top. The one to destroy Sparrowfeather forever...or so she had thought then. But instead it was Sparrowfeather who had trained her, and influenced her to bring to the the very same position once again.

 _That's what I've become!_ Archtail thought mournfully. _Sparrowfeather..._

"Cloudfoot," she choked desperately, gagging on a mouthful of her own blood as the white tom's claws sank into her neck. "I'm so sorry."

Her vision blurred, her last look of life turning into a swirling storm of snowy white, and her life faded away...

* * *

 **That's it! The end of _Twisted Secrets_! Thank you all for reading it even though it was nearly forever between updates. Now that this is done with, I'm going to be starting a new ten-chapter story called _Running Blind._ It too will be set in WindClan. Check out the preview in the next chapter...**


	4. Sneak Peek

**Sneak peak to _Running Blind_**

* * *

The darkness around her was stifling, seeming to close tighter and tighter around her bristling pelt, choking the air from her small body and leaving her breathless, suffocating, and gasping silently, alone with each helpless breath. Larkpaw shivered at the thought of meeting her end within the darkness of the tunnels beneath the moor, leaving her Clanmates and Dawnpaw to wonder what had become of her. Willing the thought to fade, she took a tentative step into the depths of the darkness.

Cold, wet earth pressed against her back, seeping through her fur and brushing against her skin as she walked. For once, Larkpaw wished her pelt was thick and fluffy like Wollypaw's or Fogpelt's to protect her from the dripping dirt.

For a moment, the tortoiseshell apprentice considered going back, and returning to the wide-open moor where the sky was not blocked by layers upon layers of earth, where the wind soared through the grass and filled her with joy and a sense of freedom instead of the gut-wrenching feeling of being buried below, and where she could see and smell the wide open sky instead of drowning in darkness and the only scent reaching her nose being that of wet earth. The thought of sunlight on her pelt almost made her paws carry her back to the entrance of the burrow, never to set paw in the winding tunnels again.

 _No. I have to do this. My Clan is depending on me._ She scolded herself quickly, refusing to abandon her quest and forcing herself to remain focused at the task before her.

 _Whatever is hurting the tunnelers, I have to find out._

Determined, she quickly pushed away all thoughts of the moor that lay waiting invitingly above her, and, bracing herself, plunged deeper into the darkness despite her fear.

 _WindClan needs me. I mustn't give up now._


End file.
